The Nashville Coalition for the Homeless recently honored Christian Ketel, DNP, MSN, manager of the Clinic at Mercury Courts, with the Phyllis M. Frank Volunteer Award.
“Christian has been a tireless advocate for people who are disenfranchised, particularly when it comes to expanding access to high quality health care. He has made and will continue to make a profound difference in the lives of many in our community who are struggling with poverty and homelessness,” said Bonnie Pilon, Ph.D., senior associate dean for Clinical and Community Partnerships for the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.
In his role at VUSN’s clinic serving Mercury Courts’ low-income housing residents, Ketel and the clinic team have worked to provide wraparound services — physical, spiritual and social support — to the residents and the more than 3,000 patients who visit the clinic annually. Additionally, he has spearheaded a number of community health fairs and events.
Ketel volunteered as a leader in the planning and implementation of Starting Point, an event designed to connect people at risk or experiencing homelessness with the organizations that can assist them. More than 450 individuals were able to connect with medical and social service resources. Ketel coordinated more than 200 medical screenings, 27 acute medical care visits, 150 dental screenings and 120 influenza immunizations.
In addition, the Mental Health Cooperative, a major provider of the behavioral health support in Nashville, was able to provide more than 150 addiction and behavioral health screenings, of which many were connected with immediate treatment option.
“Caring is a limitless feeling of the heart, but to act upon caring is limited by our time and energy,” Ketel said. “I prefer to spend my share of caring on those who need it the most, the people experiencing homelessness and social isolation and those living in the midst of disparity.”
The award is named after its first recipient, Phyllis M. Frank, who is an advocate to end homelessness and the past chairwoman of the Nashville Coalition for the Homeless.